Dr. Timothy Wahle, President and Chairman of the Board
Dr. Timothy Wahle, a San Francisco Bay Area native, graduated from Justin-Siena High School, received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of San Francisco and then earned his DDS from Creighton University in 1997. He has worked as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pacific, Dugoni School of Dentistry and has been in private dental practice in Napa, California for more than 20 years.
Dr. Wahle’s credits include being a member of the American Dental Association, the California Dental Association, the Napa-Solano Dental Society, the Sister Ann Dental Clinic and the Academy of General Dentistry.
For close to twenty years, Dr. Wahle has been affiliated with and volunteered his dental services to the nonprofit organization Christina’s Smile, providing free dental care to underprivileged children in their mobile dental units each year in Napa and Pebble Beach California alongside the Senior PGA golf tour. His connection to military veterans is through his extensive volunteer work with those who have served in the Veterans Home of California in Yountville. The opportunity to receive a gifted mobile dental unit from Christina’s Smile prompted Dr. Wahle to reach out to friend and former Marine Corps veteran Steve Gatlin, and together they formed V.E.T.S. Mobile Dental Unit to provide free dental services for military veterans who go without benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Steve Gatlin, Executive Director and Vice President of Operations
Steve Gatlin was born and raised in Miami, Florida. In 1992 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and became a Corrections Officer serving at Marine Corp Base Camp Pendleton. In 1998 he re-enlisted to become a Combat Correspondent, serving another four years as a print journalist and Marketing and Public Affairs Officer before being honorably discharged in 2002. Upon leaving the Marine Corps Gatlin worked for two years as a mortgage loan officer while simultaneously laying the foundation for his photography and film company, based in Marin County, California.
Gatlin’s passion for storytelling developed in the Marine Corps led him into the documentary film field. He has produced dozens of feature and short length films that have been screened in more than fifty International Film Festivals around the world, on television and in theaters. He has produced television shows for HGTV, Food Network, TruTV, Discovery Channel and The Weather Channel, to name a few.
He found his true calling in serving the nonprofit world. Utilizing his film experience along with the marketing, public affairs and community relations skills he developed, Gatlin has been able to support nonprofit organizations such as Edutopia (George Lucas Educational Foundation), Michael Pritchard’s Heartland Media, the Marin Center For Independent Living, SF SAFE, Being Adept, the San Francisco Junior Giants and numerous others. Gatlin also began working for the UCP of the North Bay in 2011 as a freelance filmmaker and eventually was hired full time as their Community Relations Manager. His work there includes event creation, planning and execution and a wide variety of responsibilities maintaining a positive presence for the organization in the community and fundraising. As a founding member of V.E.T.S. Mobile Dental Unit he stands ready to work to serve the greatest interests and wellbeing of veterans and their families everywhere.
Lisa Adams Walter, Secretary
While not a veteran, Lisa Adams Walter is a proud Marine Corps brat and daughter of a Vietnam Veteran. A native of wine country, Lisa is a publicist who founded her own boutique PR agency Adams Walter Communications twenty years ago, and has spent her career writing, telling stories, reporting and publicizing primarily in the areas of wine, food and the arts. She has worked for, and served on the boards and committees of, several non-profits. In addition, she has been published in numerous media outlets, and is one of a select group of wine publicists who wrote chapters for the books Spinning the Bottle: Case Histories, Tactics and Stories of Wine Public Relations as well as the second edition Spinning the Bottle Again. A graduate of California State University Sacramento with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, with an emphasis upon Public Relations and Advertising, she is the executive editor and co-founder of Canvassing Wine Country Magazine, co-host of the national Radio Misfits podcast “Wine Women Radio Hour” and in 2016 wrote the introduction for the Simon & Schuster hardcover book Napa Valley Cabernets.
Michael Stagner, Treasurer
Mike Stagner, a San Francisco Bay Area native, has established himself as one of the premier general contractors in the Napa Valley with his company Stagner Construction, Inc. Throughout his 40-plus years of experience building he has seen it all, and during tough economic times has been able to find ways to lend his talents to charities and churches in need and feels passionate about giving back to the community in which he lives and works. Mike has affiliations with the Salvation Army, Special Olympics and ParentsCAN, to name a few. He joins the V.E.T.S. Mobile Dental Unit Board of Directors eager to make a difference for veterans who go without dental care.
Nathan Ryan Dale, Board Member
Nathan Dale was born and raised in Michigan before joining the United States Marine Corps in August of 2000. He was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and honorably discharged a year later. While obtaining his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Nathan worked with the Chattanooga Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on crisis intervention for combat veterans. Nathan was also asked to speak about veteran health care at Southern Adventist University and at the office of Multicultural Affairs’ meeting of the Chattanooga Mayor’s Council on Disability. During this time, he developed a passion for helping veterans and learned he could also heal himself. In the bay area he has volunteered with United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay and joins the V.E.T.S. Mobile Dental Unit Board of Directors with a desire to help his fellow veterans receive the dental services they deserve.
Steve Dilly, Board Member
Steve Dilly is a graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in Accounting. He has worked at Deloitte & Touche and been self-employed for twenty-six years in retail, consulting and real estate. In addition, he is currently employed at the Chief Financial Officer of Kolbe Academy. Dilly has served on the Board of Directors of the Trinity Education Center, The Kolbe Academy and the Cor Christi Academy/Cor Christi Broadcasting, of which he is also a co-founder.
Dr. Robert English, Board Member
Dr. English maintains a general practice emphasizing mini dental implants in San Francisco, CA. He also provides in-office training for fellow dentists and staff on the integration and implementation of mini dental implants into their practices, he is a lecturer and implant instructor for an international implant company, lecturing here in the US and in Asia. Dr. English is a former California Dental Board Examiner, a former Professor in the Restorative Department at the University of the Pacific, School of Dentistry, a Group Practice Administrator at the University of the Pacific, School of Dentistry, overseeing 75 students, 25 faculty members and support staff. He is a member of the AAID, CDA, ADA, IAMDI and AGD. Dr. English was raised in Alaska where he graduated from the University of Alaska with degrees in Biochemistry, Chemistry, he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery from The University of the Pacific, School of Dentistry.
Munther Massarweh, Board Member
A Bay Area native and Marin County resident, Restaurateur and Chef Munther Massarweh earned his
reputation at Chicago’s world-famous Pump Room, where he served as the executive chef for five years. Before moving to the mid-west, Munther ran restaurants throughout San Francisco including McCormick & Koleto’s, Perry’s Restaurant, The Fillmore Bar & Grill, and Club Eleven. After a successful run at the Pump Room, Chef Munther opened his first restaurant in Hawaii. After several years he decided to return home where he opened two wildly successful restaurant concepts: Tin Pan Asian Bistro in San Francisco, The Bistro at Glenn Ellen in the heart of wine country and Bourbon & Beef in the trendy Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. By this time, the demand for his elegant food, personal service and exquisite events made the opening of Scrumptious Occasions Catering a natural step. Currently, he is enjoying success with Wildfox Steakhouse, The Speakeasy sports bar and Rickey’s — an American Farm Fresh restaurant all in Novato, California. His experience with the Lettuce Entertain You Corporation in Chicago is what makes him one of the region’s best chefs, successful restaurant operators, restaurant consultants and sought-after caterers.
Dr. Blake McRay, DDS, MSD, Board Member
Dr. Blake McRay, a Board-Certified Endodontist, received his DDS from the University of Texas. Following dental school, Dr. McRay worked with veterans at the Audie L Murphy VA hospital in San Antonio during his advanced training residency. After practicing general dentistry in Napa for several years, Dr. McRay received his Master’s and completed his specialty training in Endodontics at the University of Washington. Dr. McRay earned the highest distinction in the field when he became Board-Certified by the American Board of Endodontics. Since 2013, Dr. McRay has worked as an endodontist in his private practice in Napa, CA.
Dr. McRay is a member of the American Association of Endodontists, the American Board of Endodontics, the American Dental Association, the California Dental Association and the Northern California Academy of Endodontics.
Joeseph G, Meisch, Board Member
Joe Meisch was born and raised in Novato, California and now resides just north of there in the beautiful town of Cazaredo. He served thirteen years in the United States Army Reserve and was discharged in 2000 as recipient of the Federal Humanitarian Award, Federal National defense, California Medal of Merit and the California CAL COM. Meisch has an AA Degree from College of Marin and BA from Sonoma State University.
He is the inventor and Chief Executive Officer of Meisch Temple Massager Incorporated, a government patented device that was created to assist users in delivering a cranial massage to reduce the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress, anxiety and Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction. Meisch has corroborated anecdotal data collected though the donating an estimated 2,500 Temple Massagers to various military veterans’ service organizations, including the Wounded Warriors Project, Walter Reed Hospital and the Mothers of Military Service Members. His dedication and service to active duty and veterans is highly regarded and a welcomed addition to the V.E.T.S. Mobile Dental Unit organization.